Almost By Herself, Heather Graham Takes Austin Powers Seriously

Graham, known until now primarily as the rollerskating nymphet in "Boogie Nights," is the leading lady, Felicity Shagwell, in the second most anticipated sequel of the summer, "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me."

"I took the role totally seriously," Graham said. "Well, don't look at me like that! I was told to play it seriously. Everyone thought Felicity shouldn't be in on the joke."

When it is found that Vanessa Kensington, Austin's bride at the end of "Austin Powers, Man of Mystery" is actually a fembot (a female robot) in the hire of the dastardly Dr. Evil, Felicity Shagwell quickly replaces her as the enchanting CIA operative who accompanies Powers back to the 1960s to try to find his missing mojo (his life force). Together, they fend off an assortment of double agents in their efforts to stop Dr. Evil's plans to take over the world.

Mike Myers, who created and stars as Austin Powers, said, when told of the observation: "She must be kidding. Me? Sexy? I'm about as sexy as yesterday's loaf of bread. But, hey. She said Austin, didn't she? Austin is another thing."

So what is Myers like on the set? Wild?

"He thinks a lot," Graham answered. "He's a mixture. He's completely focused. Mike is very brave. You wouldn't know this film is funny from the script. It doesn't read funny. But Mike pushes for his vision. It happens in the doing."

She loved the bright clothes of the '60s (oranges and reds, psychedelics), but added, "I wouldn't wear any of them off the set, except, maybe, the boots. The boots were cool."

Her favorite line in the movie is when Powers asks her, "Do I make you horny, baby?"

"It's the only line that broke me up. I didn't even realize this was such a great hit until my boyfriend's nephews, ages 9 and 7, started quoting to me all the lines from the first movie. It's that age that likes it, I guess."

Her boyfriend is Stephen Hopkins, who directed her in "Lost in Space."

Graham, born in Milwaukee, the daughter of an FBI agent, went to school in Virginia while her father was studying anti-terrorist tactics at FBI headquarters. "I first started acting in grade school, at age 9, but I went professional at age 16, when I got a TV commercial. My father didn't approve, but then he hesitated when I was 17 and making all this money."

She was not permitted, though, to take a role in the film "Heathers." Apparently she was past the age of consent when "Boogie Nights" came along.

You can't say Graham didn't suffer for her art. Well, a little. Upon arrival in Hollywood, the only job she got was ushering at the Hollywood Bowl. "Growing up, I was kind of smart. That was seen as a negative," she said as she popped her gum. "You had to be like a cheerleader to be cool. I didn't dress good. I couldn't get the guys I liked. Guys my own age didn't think I was cute. Guys a little older liked me."

In a bikini scene, she does a believable impersonation of Ursula Andress in "Dr. No." "I had never seen Sean Connery in any of those movies," she said. "They sent me the tapes and -- wow! He is so hot. She is too. She had it going on. They also sent me `Beyond the Valley of the Dolls' to watch. Why that? I didn't get the connection, but I looked at it."

Graham has a number of other movies coming out this year. Later this summer, she stars with Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy in "Bowfinger." In "Committed," she plays an intense young woman who travels cross country to find her missing husband. Then, in "Alien Love Triangle," she plays, according to her, "an alien with green hair and long fingernails" opposite Kenneth Branagh and Courteney Cox.